Many people across the country watch football. The state of Oregon doesn’t have a pro team, but it has two Division 1 college teams — the Beavers and the Ducks. Although CHS is located in the same town in which OSU plays, many students interested in sports also root for the Ducks. Both the Ducks and the Beavers had losing records in the Pac-12 last year, but each team should be excited for the start of the season. The teams each hired a new coach at the beginning of the offseason, and are looking to improve, since both coaches won their first home game of the season.

Oregon State

Oregon State’s new head coach is Jonathan Smith, who was the team’s quarterback (QB) from 1998 to 2001, when he led them to the Fiesta Bowl. He was the offensive coordinator of the Washington Huskies from 2014 to 2017. The Beavers may have struggled in the past, but Coach Smith has helped the team develop a more explosive offense. Led by QBs Jake Luton and Conor Blount, they have some exciting passing plays. Their best player, Ryan Nall, left for the NFL, but Jemar Jefferson has been an talented young running back so far. As the season progresses the Beavers will look to win more games, and try to have more of an effective defense.

In case anyone is interested in picking up Beaver gear this season, The Beaver Store is right across from Reser Stadium, and you can also check stores like Fred Meyer to see if they have the gear you may want. If you are more interested in online shopping, then a good website to check out is Fanatics, or of course Amazon. If you are interested in going to games, the upcoming home games in October are 10/6 against Washington State, and 10/20 against UC Berkeley.

Oregon

Oregon’s new head coach has a different story than Coach Smith of the Beavers. Instead of playing for the Ducks, Coach Mario Cristobal had a year of coaching at UO as the offensive coordinator in 2017. After Oregon’s head coach last season left to become the head coach of Florida State, Cristobal was promoted to become the new head coach of Ducks. The team is led by Junior QB Justin Herbert, who many consider as an NFL caliber quarterback if he stays healthy. While Herbert is the Ducks’ best offensive player, the most important player on the team is considered to be Troy Dye. Dye is a huge presence on defense that makes all opposing quarterbacks that face him feel nervous. Oregon is a very talented team, and if coached right, they might have a chance of winning the Pac-12.

It is a little complicated to buy Duck gear in stores around the Corvallis area, so the best option is to buy them online at Fanatics. If you don’t have access to the internet, or you want to try gear on, you can go to The Duck Store in Eugene. Unlike the Beavers, the Ducks have only one game at home in October, on the 13th, but it is the biggest game of the year against the top ranked Washington Huskies team.